If you love watching movies, then you probably face the same struggle each week: finding something worth watching. You might subscribe to various streaming services, but most of them feature a really shocking noise-to-signal ratio. That is, there are so many bad movies littering those streamers that it can be tough to sift through them to find something good.
Fortunately, Prime Video has a better selection than most streaming services, with a mixture of new titles and old favorites. And you’re in luck: I’ve already sifted through this streamer to find the best titles worth watching this week!
5
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
As an older gamer who saw the original Mario Bros. movie in theaters, I was a tad nervous when The Super Mario Bros. Movie was announced. Would this CGI cartoon, I wondered, be just as bad as its live-action counterpart? I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the new film (from the studio behind hits like Despicable Me) was a love letter to Mario and all things Nintendo. It can be enjoyed by younger fans, of course, but older fans are likely to enjoy finding the various Easter eggs referencing this beloved Nintendo character’s long history of video games.
Older fans are also likely to enjoy the film’s stellar voice cast. The Super Mario Bros. Movie features Chris Pratt as Mario and, in an inspired choice, Charlie Day as Luigi. Seth Rogen breathes hilarious life into Donkey Kong, but the real show-stopper is Jack Black as Bowser. He gives his fearsome foe a personality both deep and funny, and his earworm song “Peaches” is like the movie as a whole: unexpected, engaging, and wildly memorable.
Welcome back to film, Mario. It only took 30 years to make up for that live-action movie, but the wait was definitely worth it!
4
Chopping Mall
Chopping Mall is one of the greatest guilty pleasures for anyone who loves ‘80s horror movies. As the name implies, almost all of the action takes place in a mall, one that now has a cutting-edge fleet of robots to serve as its security force. But after a freak lightning storm, all of them decide to hunt down humans instead of protecting them. And their first victims are going to be a group of hapless, horny teenagers who just wanted to have fun in the mall after hours.
Between its setting in a mall and its focus on killer robots, Chopping Mall feels like a nostalgic throwback in the best possible way. The cast is entertaining and has easy chemistry, and it’s genuinely fun to see horror icon Barbara Crampton among them. The movie also features an appearance from fellow horror legend Dick Miller. With fun dialogue, entertaining kills, and a charismatic cast, this is the perfect movie to throw on with a group of friends who seriously enjoy spooky cinema.
Chopping Mall
- Release Date
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March 14, 1986
- Runtime
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77 minutes
- Director
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Jim Wynorski
3
Die Hard
To this day, Die Hard has a well-deserved reputation as the best action movie ever made. It has a remarkably simple premise: Bruce Willis plays a New York cop who has flown out to the West Coast to visit his estranged wife at her corporate gig’s swanky Christmas party in Nakatomi Tower. But when the party is crashed by terrorists led by a brilliant leader (played by Alan Rickman), it’s up to a top cop with no backup and no shoes to save the day by playing the world’s most violent game of cat-and-mouse.
Die Hard is remarkably economical in its storytelling: no moment of screentime is wasted, and every action scene moves the plot along even as it entertains. Plus, Willis finds the sweet spot for his character, turning him into a gruff, reluctant hero whose weird sense of humor provides us with some very quotable dialogue. Rickman also deserves full credit for his role as the classiest bad guy to ever grace the silver screen. Incredibly, this was Rickman’s theatrical debut (he was previously a stage actor), and his performance made him a bankable movie star overnight.
Die Hard
- Release Date
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July 15, 1988
- Runtime
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132 minutes
- Director
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John McTiernan
2
Twisters
Twisters is one of those weird movies that fails as a sequel but works quite well as a standalone film. You see, the plot has precious little to do with the original Twister, and none of the original movie’s cast makes an appearance in this new disaster movie. That almost doesn’t matter, though, because Twisters has its own killer cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones plays a meteorologist dragged back into the storm-chasing game, and Glen Powell plays an influencer famous for his viral (and visceral) videos chronicling his storm-chasing adventures. The two have a fun “will they/won’t they” vibe together, and it’s genuinely fun watching them bounce off of each other against these stunning midwestern backdrops.
While none of them are given a ton to do, Twisters also notably features several other big names, including Mad Men and Sabrina star Kiernan Shipka and Love Lies Bleeding star Katy O’Brian. Most surprisingly, future Superman leading man David Corenswet is in this film, playing against type as a tall and imposing jerk. Overall, Twisters may not be much of a direct sequel, but it has much of what made Twister so great: a stacked cast, lovable romantic leads, and one life-or-death twister after another.
The result is a movie that feels, well, like a force of nature!
Twisters
- Release Date
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July 19, 2024
- Runtime
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117 Minutes
- Director
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Lee Isaac Chung
1
Highlander
Now that we are getting a movie reboot starring Henry Cavill, this is the perfect time to watch the original Highlander. Admittedly, it didn’t take long for this swords-and-Scots franchise to go off the rails, but the first movie is just pure magic. It follows the adventures of Connor MacLeod, an immortal man caught in an eternal contest where he must battle fellow immortals to the death. So far, he’s avoided getting his head cut off (the only way to definitively kill his kind), but that might change now that a warrior he has been fighting for centuries has shown up in New York City.
Highlander is truly unlike any other film. You see plenty of swordfights in settings like parking garages, and the bold cinematography makes these modern fights using ancient weapons practically pop off the screen. Christopher Lambert gives a career-making performance as our main character, and Sean Connery pops up for what might be the most entertaining cameo in cinematic history. Throw in Clancy Brown’s scariest performance as the movie’s villain and a killer soundtrack by Queen, and you have a movie that is pure entertainment from beginning to end!
Highlander
- Release Date
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March 7, 1986
- Runtime
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116 minutes
- Director
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Russell Mulcahy
There’s nothing like kicking back and watching a good movie. And with this round-up in hand, you know exactly which films to check out on Prime this week!
- Subscription with ads
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Yes, via Prime membership or $9/month
- Simultaneous streams
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3
Prime Video has a large volume of content to watch. The other Amazon perks are a bonus as well.
